Dental waste disposal system



1952 .1. l. NUGENT 3,051,175

DENTAL WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM Filed Feb. 29, 1960 l v INVENTOR. JOHN l. NUGENT Tm M WZ k ATTORNEYS) Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3,051,175 DENTAL WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM John I. Nugent, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to Ritter Company, Inc., Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 11,719 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-276) For many years dental drills were driven by electric motors operatively connected to the drill by means of a belt. Very rarely were speeds in excess of 14,000 revolutions per minute attained with these drills. Of recent vintage, there has evolved inventions employing the use of fluid driven turbines to drive dental drills at speeds in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand revolutions per minute, some of which turbines are driven by the force of fluids from a source of fluid pressure. More recently a so-called vacuum drill has been developed driven by reduction in air pressure created by a vacuum source such as an aspirator or Vacuum pump.

During this progress in the method for driving dental drills, there has also evolved a variety of dental aspirators to remove the dental waste debris and water from the oral operative area as the dental drill is performing its function. In the case of dental drills which are driven by reduction in air pressure, it is possible to combine these two advancements or functions in the dental equipment field into one apparatus referred to as an aspirating or vacuum dental drill.

In a high volume aspirating system including aspirating dental drills and various types of dental aspirators, one of the principle problems encountered is the disposal of waste which collects in the container through which the aspirated air is drawn. In some systems, this waste is discharged into a sewer system manually; in others it is removed automatically through an elaborate system of valves and collecting reservoirs. It is one of the purposes of this invention to provide a simple, compact means of emptying the waste which collects in these type containers directly into a sewer in fully automatic manner.

My invention contemplates two methods and means for accomplishing this purpose. The first is to provide a device responsive to the liquid level in the reservoir or collecting container effective to automatically discharge the waste into a sewer system when the liquid level reaches a predetermined level; the other being a continuous evacuation process to remove the waste or debris from the reservoir during the entire period of utilization of the aspiration system.

It is another object or purpose of my invention to provide an improved disposal system for separating the waste and debris from the air after it has been aspirated from the oral operative area and before it is expelled into the atmosphere.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a disposal system which is relatively cheap to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be particularly set forth in the claims and will be apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is of one embodiment of my invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the aspiration system generally indicated by the numeral 5 includes a vacuum driven dental handpiece or aspirator nozzle 6, connected to a conduit or tube 7 which is sealed at 8 in an opening provided in a cover plate 9 which cover plate is sealed to the uppermost portion of a reservoir or collecting container 10. In the embodiment of my invention I have shown in FIG. 1, container 10 is partially filled with a liquid 11 to a level whereby an end 12 of conduit 7 is submerged. The aspiration system also includes a conduit 13 sealed at 15 to an opening provided in cover plate 9 the lowermost end of which conduit is exposed to the air above the liquid 11. The other end of conduit 13 is connected at 17 to a high volume aspirator 19.

The principle of my invention depends upon using a vacuum system for emptying the reservoir 10 which develops a higher vacuum than the high volume aspirator 19. This pressure diflerential is essential to remove the waste 14 after it has been filtered from the air being conducted through tube 7. It will be understood that it is essential for the dental debris or waste to be separated from the air accompanying it before the air passes it through the aspirator 19. As shown in FIG. 1, this is accomplished by filtering the air and Waste traveling in tube 7 through a liquid. By means of reduced pressure on the liquid created by the aspirator 19, the air will be drawn through the liquid 11 into the conduit 13 and thereafter be discharged by the aspirator 19 into the atmosphere as indicated by the arrows 20. The liquid 11 serves as a filter to purify the air prior to its discharge at 20.

The disposal system generally indicated by the numeral 21 shown in FIG. 1 is designed to intermittently remove the filtered debris or Waste 14 from the container 10 and discharge the same into a sewer system at a place diagrammatically indicated by the arrow 22.

The disposal system 21 includes a float 23 responsively connected to an electric switch 24 by means of a connecting rod 25. Switch 24 is in circuit with an electric circuit 26 so that when switch 24 completes the circuit, a valve 27is opened. Valve 27, as shown in FIG. 1, is an electric solenoid valve. However, it will be understood that this type of a valve could be replaced by any valve which would be operatively effective by means of a float responsive switch 24.

Valve 27 is connected to a conduit or pipe 28 in order to control the flow of fluid therethrough. Container 10 has an outlet 29 located substantially at the bottom thereof to provide .access from container 10 to a conduit 30 which in turn is connected at 32 to an aspirating chamber 33. Chamber 33 is connected at 34 to a conduit 35 which conducts the fluid flowing through valve 27 into chamber 33. A discharge line 6 connected at 38 to the aspirating chamber 33 conducts the fluid from the chamber to the sewer system (not shown). It will be understood that the fluid 40 flowing through chamber 33 creates .a higher orstronger vacuum than is created by the high volume aspirator 19.

A source of fluid pressure (not shown) supplies a fluid, indicated by an arrow 40, to the conduit 28 for aspiration of the debris or waste 14 through conduit 30 past a one way or ball checked valve 42 connected into the conduit 30 which valve permits the extraction of waste from container 10 responsive to the aspirating effect of the fluid 40 passing through the aspirating chamber 33. This valve is also effective to prevent the reverse flow of any fluid back into chamber 10 by way of outlet 29.

In operation the debris 14 and liquids from the mouth being carried through conduit 7 and filtered out of the air by liquid 11 causes the liquid level in container 10 to rise. Switch 24 is actuated by the float 23 and connecting rod 25 when the liquid 11 reaches a preselected level, and switch 24 in turn completes the circuit 26 which actuates the valve 27 to efiect the flow of the fluid 40 through the conduit 35 into chamber 33 in order to aspirate the waste 14 from container 10 through outlet 29, conduit 30 and ball checked valve 42. The debris 14 is conveyed by the fluid 40 and discharged as indicated by the arrow 22 into a sewer system (not shown). As a result of the above described aspiration of the waste 14, the level of the liquid 11 in the container 10 is thereby decreased and upon reaching a pre-selected level the float 23 is efiective through the connecting rod 25 to operate the switch 24 to open the circuit 26 and close the valve 27 in order to stop any further aspiration of the debris by the disposal system 21.

The foregoing described embodiment of my invention is intermittently operative to remove the waste 14 from the bottom of the container 10 during utilization of the aspiration system 5 by the float 23, connecting rod 25, switch 24, electric circuit 26 and valve 27. It will be understood that the float 23, rod 25, switch 24, circuit 26 and valve 27 may be eliminated by regulating the flow of the liquid 40 in relation to the operation of the aspirator 19. Thus, a disposal system is created which is continuously operative during the operation of aspirator 19. This form of my invention would eliminate the intermittent disposal operation controlled by the float 23 and switch 24 as described above. Also, my invention contemplates a system which does not depend on a liquid being in reservoir designed to separate the waste 14 from the air by air currents, such as a cyclone separator, the reservoir 10 could effectively operate dry.

It is further understood that the fluid aspirating system including conduits 28 and 35, valve 27 and aspirating chamber 32 may be replaced by a high vacuum pump creating a higher vacuum than is created by the high volume aspirator 19. This pump could be controlled intermittently by the float 23 and switch 24, or the pump may be used for disposing of waste 14 continuously during operation of aspirator 19.

While there has been shown and described the preferred form of mechanism of this invention it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made therein, particularly in the form and relation of parts, without departing from the spirit of this invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for disposing of dental waste matter being conveyed to said apparatus by reduced air pressure comprising, in combination, a reservoir, conduit means adapted to extend from a source of waste to said reservoir for conducting waste, first pressure reducing means communicating with the upper portion of said reservoir, separator means in said reservoir intermediate said conduit and first pressure reducing means for separating said waste into the lower portion of said reservoir, and second pressure reducing means communicating with said lower portion of said reservoir adapted to produce a greater pressure reduction than said first pressure reducing means for removing said waste without causing any substantial increase in pressure in said reservoir.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said second pressure reducing means includes a conduit communicating with said separator means, a one-way valve connected to said outlet, said valve permitting said waste matter to flow only away from said separator means, and an aspirator communicating with the side of said valve opposite the connection with said separator means.

3. Apparatus for disposing of dental waste matter being conveyed by reduced air pressure comprising, in combination, a reservoir adapted to be partially filled with liquid having a waste outlet located at substantially the bottom of said reservoir, conduit means adapted to extend from a source of waste and adapted to be submerged in said liquid for conducting waste, first air pressure reducing means communicating, with the upper portion of said reservoir which is to be unfilled for filtering said air and waste through said liquid into substantially the bottom of said reservoir, andmeans connected to said outlet for removing said waste matter automatically from said reservoir by reducing the pressure at said outlet by an amount greater than the effective air pressure reduction of said first air pressure reducing means, thereby not interrupting the operation of said first air pressure reducing means to conduct waste through said conduit means.

4. An apparatus for disposing of dental waste matter comprising, in combination, a reservoir having a waste outlet and being adapted to be partially filled with liquid, a closed air pressure reducing system communicating with the portion of said reservoir which is to be unfilled for conveying said waste matter suspended in air from its initial location outside said reservoir through said liquid and filtering said waste matter into said liquid, a secondpressure reducing system connected to said outlet for removing said waste matter from said reservoir without interrupting the effective operation of said air pressure reducing system conveying waste to said reservoir, a float in said reservoir adapted to be supported by said liquid, and means connected to and responsive to said float for automatically controlling said second pressure reducingsystem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,413,138 Feinberg Dec. 24, 1946 2,643,732 Keen June 30, 1953 2,821,021 Winter Jan. 28, 1958 2,979,056 Wiseman Apr. 11, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 901,461 Germany Jan. 11, 1954 

